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We were the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault (JCASA); and were dedicated to ending sexual violence in Jewish communities globally. We did our best to operate as the make a wish foundation for Jewish survivors of sex crimes. In the past we offered a clearinghouse of information, resources, support and advocacy.

Thursday, June 18, 1998

Former Adjunct Professor of Psychology at the University of Ottawa - Ottawa, CanadaChildhood Home - Montreal, Canada

In 1998 a judge has ordered Ottawa psychologist Dr. Arthur Blank to pay more than $325,000 in damages to a female former patient he sexually abused during and after her therapy. The award is among the highest awarded in Canada in the 1990s for sexual abuse by a health practitioner. No criminal charges were ever laid against Dr. Blank.

Back in 2008 there were rumors that Dr. Arthur Blank was in training to become a rabbi. There are several people who go by the name of Arthur Blank. The individual discussed on this page was born near Montreal, Canada.

If you have more information on this case, please forward it to The Awareness Center.

The shocking statistics about wife, child and even granny beatings have been making headlines for several years. But a team of Ottawa researchers believe a much less-publicized type of abuse –– husband battering needs more attention.

"We have found that husband abuse is a phenomenon that's overlooked by society," says Dr. Arthur Blank, chief of psychology at Queensway-Carleton Hospital.

Blank and Carelton University psychology student Natalie Remillard are conducting one of the first Canadian studies into husband battering.

In a preliminary survey of men at armed forces based at Rockcliffe and Petawawa, 18 percent of the 33 men who answered questionaries said abuse interferes with their lives.

'That's almost one in five I think that's pretty hefty and deserves a lot more attention", says Blank.

U.S. statistics indicate one in 200 men is abused by his wife. A 1974 U.S. study found that sex percent of wives abuse their husbands daily to once a month.

Blank says it's extremely difficult however to learn more about abused men, or to help them, because men rarely admit to being abused and often won't even discuss the topic.

There's tremendous under-reporting, says Remillard. In her survey, 300 questionnaires were sent out and only 33 returned.

"It's not macho to say 'I need help' or ato admit ythat your wife is abusing you, says Remillard It wouldn't do to be beat up by your wife and let people know about it"

But 30 percent of the men surveyed said they would support a shelter for abued men and 18 percent said they would seek help at such a shelter if they were abused.

"W'eve got shelters for battered women, but no one would even think of setting up for men," says Blank. Another problem in identifying abused men, he adds, is that men tend to think of themselves as abused only if their wives actually strike them.

But Blank says husband battering is more likely to be in form of mental, verbal or sexual abuse.

A wife may withdraw and make her husband feel very bad by giving him mean looks and saying mean things. That's husband battering and can be far more cruel than physical abuse. Because women are usually weaker physically than men and ten to be more verbal, women are more likely to be mentally abusive than strike out and risking being hit back.

"Often women are sexually abusive. A lot of a man's ego is tied up in his sexuality and women can hurt men by saying cruel things about a man's sexual performance or by ridiculing them."

In the survey of armed forces men, more said verbal abuse interfered with their lives than those who said physical abuse was a problem.

Blank and Remillard want to talk to more abused men to pinpoint what types of abused men to pinpoint what types of abuse most common and wether abusing wives and abused husbands have predictable personality traits.

Men who volunteer for the study will be guaranteed anonymity and will be referred for counseling or other help if needed.

A judge has ordered Ottawa psychologist Dr. Arthur Blank to pay more than $325,000 in damages to a female former patient he sexually abused during and after her therapy.

In a scathing judgment released this week, Justice Catherine Aitken wrote that Dr. Blank, who treated and had sex with the woman in the early 1990s, "took negligence to a standard of recklessness and audacity that shocks the court.

"His behaviour was disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and has no place in a profession that prides itself as being one of the helping professions," Judge Aitken wrote in her ruling.

The award is among the highest awarded in Canada in the 1990s for sexual abuse by a health practitioner.

The Ottawa woman, now in her mid-40s, first saw Dr. Blank in August 1990, complaining that she was a chronic worrier who slept poorly, lacked confidence, and was too often unhappy. As therapy progressed, Dr. Blank made increasingly forceful sexual advances, telling the woman she had a "hot little body" and hugging and kissing her.

By February 1992, he was having sex with the woman in his office and billing her. He soon stopped billing her, but continued having sex with her until December 1993, when the woman stumbled upon Dr. Blank with another woman.

The woman's contact with Dr. Blank left her an emotional wreck near suicide. While she saw him, her health deteriorated and she became agitated, anxious and extremely depressed. She had idolized Dr. Blank, considered him a "lifeline and saviour," and after he abandoned her, she had trouble eating and sleeping. She often got up in the night and drove her car for hours. She once thought of driving into a wall to end her agony.

The woman also contracted genital warts from Dr. Blank. "When she was diagnosed ... he refused to assume any responsibility for having infected her and instead tried to foist the blame onto (her husband)," Judge Aitken wrote. "This behaviour can only be described as malicious."

The woman said she had a good marriage, but it was all but destroyed. "Over the last few years, the (couple has) had little energy to do anything other than work, exist and talk about Dr. Blank and the impact he has had on their lives," Judge Aitken wrote.

The woman's husband, who was awarded $30,000 in damages, collapsed at work in 1995 from extreme stress. The couple went to one session of marriage counselling, and plan to consult the counsellor again when the litigation with Dr. Blank is behind them.

The judge heard expert witnesses who said that the vulnerable patient was not able to properly consent to sex with her psychologist. "Her participation in sexual activites with Dr. Blank was not based on any understanding on her part as to what was really happening," Judge Aitken wrote.

"He kept her in a constant state of confusion as to whether his advances were part of her treatment, evidence of his love for her, or something else. This was coupled with her overwhelming dependency on him, which he let develop unchecked, so that she was rendered incapable of coming to her own assessments or conclusions."

In addition to operating a private practice, Dr. Blank, now in his mid-50s, was the former chief of psychology at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa.

Because of Dr. Blank's experience, "it is inconceivable that he did not realize the extent to which his behaviour was unprofessional and unethical. It is also inconceivable that he did not realize the risks he was courting through that behaviour," the judge wrote.

"Dr. Blank's conduct went well beyond the merely negligent," Judge Aitken wrote. "He knew that his actions could cause (the woman) irreparable harm. His behaviour was wilful, manipulative and exploitative."

Last fall, the College of Psychologists of Ontario revoked Dr. Blank's licence to practise after a professional hearing over allegations of sexual abuse against the woman.

The woman, now in her mid-40s, declined to comment on the judgment. Her lawyer, Cheryl Lean, said that the woman was greatly relieved, having waited six months for a decision since December's civil trial.

Dr. Blank could not be reached for comments on the judgment. He did not testify at the civil trial, and his lawyer, Cam Godden of Toronto, called no witnesses. At trial, Mr. Godden had contended that the woman had exceeded a legal limitation period when she made her allegation of negligence.

The woman began her civil action on Dec. 19, 1995, and reported Dr. Blank to the College of Psychologists in March 1996.

The damages awarded to the woman include $100,000 in general damages, $25,000 in punitive damages, and more than $200,000 in special damages such as loss of past and future income, and past and future therapy.

Therapists who have seen the woman after her contact with Dr. Blank testified "his treatment of her was so negligent and so harmful that he may have rendered her inaccessible to any further psychiatric treatment," Judge Aitken wrote.

Regarding punitive damages, Judge Aitken wrote: "Dr. Blank's conduct ... is offensive to the ordinary standards of decent conduct in our community. The court considers it reprehensible for a professional in a position of power, trust and privilege to have conducted himself in such a callous and irresponsible fashion.

"A strong message must be given that such conduct will not be tolerated."

Judge Aitken has also ordered Dr. Blank to pay the woman's legal costs and pre-judgment interest on the general and punitive damages. Ms. Lean said that in all, Dr. Blank has been ordered to pay more than $400,000.

No criminal charges were ever laid against Dr. Blank.

In 1996, Dr. Leo Pilo of Etobicoke was ordered to pay approximately $300,000 in damages to a woman known as DMM, for abusing her from the time she was 9 until she was 20.

Also in 1996, Dr. Alexander Alfred of Toronto was ordered to pay $30,000 to a former patient he sexually abused from the age of 17. Four years earlier, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered B.C. Dr. Morris Wynrib, who gave drugs to a chemically dependent female patient in exchange for sexual favours, to pay $30,000 in damages.

A judge has ordered Ottawa psychologist Dr. Arthur Blank to pay more than $325,000 in damages to a female former patient he sexually abused during and after her therapy.

In a scathing judgment released this week, Justice Catherine Aitken wrote that Dr. Blank, who treated and had sex with the woman in the early 1990s, "took negligence to a standard of recklessness and audacity that shocks the court.

"His behaviour was disgraceful, dishonourable and unprofessional and has no place in a profession that prides itself as being one of the helping professions," Judge Aitken wrote in her ruling.

The award is among the highest awarded in Canada in the 1990s for sexual abuse by a health practitioner.

The Ottawa woman, now in her mid-40s, first saw Dr. Blank in August 1990, complaining that she was a chronic worrier who slept poorly, lacked confidence, and was too often unhappy. As therapy progressed, Dr. Blank made increasingly forceful sexual advances, telling the woman she had a "hot little body" and hugging and kissing her.

By February 1992, he was having sex with the woman in his office and billing her. He soon stopped billing her, but continued having sex with her until December 1993, when the woman stumbled upon Dr. Blank with another woman.

The woman's contact with Dr. Blank left her an emotional wreck near suicide. While she saw him, her health deteriorated and she became agitated, anxious and extremely depressed. She had idolized Dr. Blank, considered him a "lifeline and saviour," and after he abandoned her, she had trouble eating and sleeping. She often got up in the night and drove her car for hours. She once thought of driving into a wall to end her agony.

The woman also contracted genital warts from Dr. Blank. "When she was diagnosed ... he refused to assume any responsibility for having infected her and instead tried to foist the blame onto (her husband)," Judge Aitken wrote. "This behaviour can only be described as malicious."

The woman said she had a good marriage, but it was all but destroyed. "Over the last few years, the (couple has) had little energy to do anything other than work, exist and talk about Dr. Blank and the impact he has had on their lives," Judge Aitken wrote.

The woman's husband, who was awarded $30,000 in damages, collapsed at work in 1995 from extreme stress. The couple went to one session of marriage counseling, and plan to consult the counsellor again when the litigation with Dr. Blank is behind them.

The judge heard expert witnesses who said that the vulnerable patient was not able to properly consent to sex with her psychologist. "Her participation in sexual activities with Dr. Blank was not based on any understanding on her part as to what was really happening," Judge Aitken wrote.

"He kept her in a constant state of confusion as to whether his advances were part of her treatment, evidence of his love for her, or something else. This was coupled with her overwhelming dependency on him, which he let develop unchecked, so that she was rendered incapable of coming to her own assessments or conclusions."

In addition to operating a private practice, Dr. Blank, now in his mid-50s, was the former chief of psychology at the Queensway-Carleton Hospital and an adjunct professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa.

Because of Dr. Blank's experience, "it is inconceivable that he did not realize the extent to which his behaviour was unprofessional and unethical. It is also inconceivable that he did not realize the risks he was courting through that behaviour," the judge wrote.

"Dr. Blank's conduct went well beyond the merely negligent," Judge Aitken wrote. "He knew that his actions could cause (the woman) irreparable harm. His behaviour was wilful, manipulative and exploitative."

Last fall, the College of Psychologists of Ontario revoked Dr. Blank's licence to practise after a professional hearing over allegations of sexual abuse against the woman.

The woman, now in her mid-40s, declined to comment on the judgment. Her lawyer, Cheryl Lean, said that the woman was greatly relieved, having waited six months for a decision since December's civil trial.

Dr. Blank could not be reached for comments on the judgment. He did not testify at the civil trial, and his lawyer, Cam Godden of Toronto, called no witnesses. At trial, Mr. Godden had contended that the woman had exceeded a legal limitation period when she made her allegation of negligence.

The woman began her civil action on Dec. 19, 1995, and reported Dr. Blank to the College of Psychologists in March 1996.

The damages awarded to the woman include $100,000 in general damages, $25,000 in punitive damages, and more than $200,000 in special damages such as loss of past and future income, and past and future therapy.

Therapists who have seen the woman after her contact with Dr. Blank testified "his treatment of her was so negligent and so harmful that he may have rendered her inaccessible to any further psychiatric treatment," Judge Aitken wrote.

Regarding punitive damages, Judge Aitken wrote: "Dr. Blank's conduct ... is offensive to the ordinary standards of decent conduct in our community. The court considers it reprehensible for a professional in a position of power, trust and privilege to have conducted himself in such a callous and irresponsible fashion.

"A strong message must be given that such conduct will not be tolerated."

Judge Aitken has also ordered Dr. Blank to pay the woman's legal costs and pre-judgment interest on the general and punitive damages. Ms. Lean said that in all, Dr. Blank has been ordered to pay more than $400,000.

No criminal charges were ever laid against Dr. Blank.

In 1996, Dr. Leo Pilo of Etobicoke was ordered to pay approximately $300,000 in damages to a woman known as DMM, for abusing her from the time she was 9 until she was 20.

Also in 1996, Dr. Alexander Alfred of Toronto was ordered to pay $30,000 to a former patient he sexually abused from the age of 17. Four years earlier, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered B.C. Dr. Morris Wynrib, who gave drugs to a chemically dependent female patient in exchange for sexual favours, to pay $30,000 in damages.

Rabbi David Wolfe-Blank was fond of gadgets, small key chains that would pull apart, little oddities that you'd pick up in knickknack stores.

He took a childlike delight in such things, said his brother, Arthur Blank of Ottawa, so much that Rabbi Wolfe-Blank was affectionately known by some as "Mr. Gadget."

Rabbi Wolfe-Blank was tremendously curious and took great interest in the latest gadget for his computer as well as in all things spiritual.

Such inquisitiveness led him to the most orthodox branch of Judaism, Zen buddhism, Native-American teachings, psychology, physics and even to the latest breakthroughs in space research. Rabbi Wolfe-Blank was a nationally known leader in one of the newer forms of Judaism, the Jewish Renewal movement.

Rabbi Wolfe-Blank died Saturday (Aug. 29) following a car accident on Vancouver Island. He was 47.

He was born Dec. 12, 1950, and grew up in Montreal. His parents were both Jewish, but only his mother observed. By the time he was 16, he had changed school three times, mostly because he was always looking for mentors and an understanding of spirituality, said his brother, Howard Blank of Montreal.

With his mother's support, he went to Israel at age 16. It was supposed to be only for a year, but he stayed for six, falling in with the Lubavitcher movement of Judaism. He then moved to New York City to be ordained as a rabbi by the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in the early 1970s.

The Lubavitchers' mission, his brother Howard explained, was luring Jews, who had strayed from the religion, back to Judaism. Rabbi Wolfe-Blank was sent to a Zen center in upstate New York and found the philosophies there were more in sync with his beliefs. So he stayed.

But that, too, did not last. Eventually, his teacher kicked him out of the center, his brother said. And he was challenged by the teacher to hitchhike across the country without money. Which he did.

In the late 1970s he wound up in Berkeley, Calif., where he became part of the Jewish Renewal movement. The movement incorporates teachings from other religions and subjects, like ecology, with the more traditional aspects of Judaism. He published a monthly newsletter and recorded tapes and recently had completed a book.

He moved to Seattle in 1995 after being recruited by the Congregation of Eitz Or in Seattle, a 100-family congregation that holds services at the Unitarian Church in Wedgwood. He strove to make his services joyous - and he did, using percussion and dancing, congregation members said.

Howard Blank said his brother made his services "rise to crescendo. It was like he was conducting it and making it alive."

Other survivors include Rabbi Wolfe-Blank's wife, Elaine, and their 5-year-old son, Uriel, of Seattle; his mother, Anne Blank of Montreal; his brother Rabbi Sholom Blank of Miami Beach; sister Shana Ross Deutscher of Montreal; and many nieces and nephews. His father, William Blank, died Jan. 3, 1994.

Contributions can be made to the Wolfe-Blank Family Fund, Congregation Eitz Or, P.O. 15480, Seattle, WA 98115. Services have been held. For information on the shivah, the period of mourning, call 206-467-2617.

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During the month of May 1990 an archaeological project was conducted at the McMartin Preschool site to determine, once and for all, whether or not there had ever been tunnels under the building, as described by various children. Excavation was carried out according to established scientific conventions with a careful research design defining what might prove or disprove the existence of "an underground feature that would connect to the surface of the site and extend underground for some distance. " [with] dimensions large enough to accommodate adult human movement through it". (p. 24)

The project unearthed not one but two tunnel complexes as well as previously unrecognized structural features which defied logical explanation. Both tunnel complexes conformed to locations and functional descriptions established by children's reports. One had been described as providing undetected access to an adjacent building on the east. The other provided outside access under the west wall of the building and contained within it an enlarged, cavernous artifact corresponding to children's descriptions of a "secret room".

Both the contour signature of the walls and the nature of recovered artifacts indicated that the tunnels had been dug by hand under the concrete slab floor after the construction of the building. Whatever the purpose of this elaborate enterprise, even more effort must have been devoted to filling the tunnels back in and trying to conceal any evidence of their existence. Much of the fill dirt used for packing the tunnel spaces was mixed with historic debris, as if to mimic the surrounding terrain.

Not only did the discovered features fulfill the research prequalifications as tunnels designed for human traffic, there was also no alternative or natural explanation for the presence of such features.

Background

The McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California was the first of what has since been described as a national epidemic of multi-victim, multi-perpetrator accusations of sexual and sadistic abuse which erupted in the mid 1980's. The McMartin case was encumbered with hundreds of charges against seven defendants and dozens of uncharged suspects. It became the longest, most expensive and arguably most controversial criminal trial in American history. The descriptions given by children to investigators and parents were unusual and unprecedented as they emerged in 1983, but they became so stereotypic to subsequent cases throughout the country as to become generic of presumed "ritual abuse". Accusations of such extreme cruelty and bizarre perversity in the absence of physical evidence or obviously deranged suspects led eventually to increasing skepticism that such crimes could possibly exist. Simple alternative explanations emerged, first as criminal defense theories and then as common wisdom: very young children were moved by the hysterical overreaction of various adults to make unfounded accusations. Full-page newspaper ads placed in 1984 by McMartin criminal defense attorneys raised the specter of the Salem witch trials. The witch hunt analogy has since flourished to create substantial public distrust of preschool-age witnesses and of the adults who question them.

The failure of prosecutors to obtain even a single conviction in the McMartin trial has been taken by many as proof that the children's allegations were merely fantastic. Various journalists have demanded punishment of the professionals and parents who had chosen to believe them. Similar allegations arising more recently in other cases in the United States and abroad are tested against the McMartin standard, creating a prejudice against investigating or substantiating even remotely "bizarre" complaints. Parents in such cases feel triply betrayed: first with the dreadful discovery of abuse; second with their abandonment by law enforcement, and third with being blamed for imagining the abuse and fomenting public hysteria.

One of the supposedly bizarre aspects of the McMartin case was the children's insistence that they were taken into underground tunnels. They explained that the tunnels led to an underground "secret room" where abuse occurred, as well as providing a route for subversive transport to off-site locations for sexual exploitation. These stories were apparently considered fantastic by investigators, who made no attempt to search beneath the building.

A group of parents forced the hand of the district attorney on March 17, 1985 by initiating an excavation in the adjacent lot. The district attorney then authorized an archaeological inspection of that lot by Scientific Resource Surveys Inc. (SRS). There was no exploration beneath the slab floor. Instrumental survey with a terrain conductivity meter failed to detect alterations under the concrete. The SRS technician informed the district attorney's investigator that the meter proved useless within the structure because of excessive interference from pipes and steel reinforcement. The preemptory conclusion at that time that there were no tunnels has become gospel among detractors of the McMartin families. Influential journalists ridicule parents for ever entertaining such a possibility and mock their subsequent attempts at exploration.

The first opportunity for private exploration came in April 1990 when the property was sold. Several parents obtained permission from the new owner to search for the tunnels. After cutting out a section of concrete and coming up with ambiguous findings, it became apparent that experienced supervision was needed. Gerald Hobbs, a professional miner, was engaged to insure safety and to better define the nature of the underground artifacts. When an apparent tunnel entrance was discovered and then verified by geologist Dr. E. Don Michael, parents sought out the archaeological team that completed the present project.

Method

The project was designed and conducted by E. Gary Stickel, Ph.D., on the recommendation of Rainer Berger, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of the Interdisciplinary ŒProgram of the Archaeology Department at UCLA. Dr. Stickel is director of Environmental Research Archaeologists, a Scientific Consortium(ERA).

Several areas of the preschool site were designated and mapped as units for scientific excavation. These were selected according to differing criteria: re-exploration of sites documented in the district attorney's SRS survey, children's reports of entrance locations, anomalies detected through instrumental survey by ground penetrating radar (GPR), and the sites of significant discovery under Mr. Hobbs' supervision.

Hypotheses and Test Expectations

The primary research problem was to determine whether or not there were a tunnel(s) and an underground room(s) at the site in question. To meet the test hypotheses, a tunnel would be an underground feature that would connect to the surface of the site and extend underground for some distance, possibly (but not necessarily) connecting to an underground room(s). It would have to have dimensions large enough to accommodate adult human movement through it. Such a tunnel on the subject property could have been constructed in two ways: 1) either dug out as a trench-like opening which would then be roofed over with wood and/or other materials and covered over with fill above to make a true tunnel (as opposed to an open trench), or 2) would be dug out completely underground, which would then leave a "ceiling" over its passageway formed of the naturally deposited soil. If the latter were the case, such a tunnel may or may not have been fitted with an underground "roof" of wood and/or other materials either to reinforce the strength of the "ceiling" of the tunnel or to keep loose soil and dust from falling down on people using it. In either scenario (l or 2) such a tunnel may have had posts of wood and/or other materials (e.g. iron) to serve as shoring reinforcements.

Thus, given the operational definition of a tunnel considered here, the following hypothesis and test expectations were considered (test expectations are specific, tangible data that are to be expected and are discoverable if the hypothesis is valid; Stickel, 1979).

If a tunnel(s) were present at the McMartin Preschool site, then the following test expectations should be present:

An opening(s) (entrance and/or exit) large enough for human passage should be present permitting access from the surface down into a tunnel feature.

Tunnel architecture should be linear or curvilinear (i.e. an elongated passageway leading in a definable direction(s).

Tunnel architecture (especially depth or height and width) should be large enough to accommodate adult human passage.

The walls and/or uncovered soil ceiling of the tunnel should have "signatures" of markings indicating whether the tunnel had been dug by hand and/or by a machine (e.g. a backhoe).

There should be a compacted dirt floor (compacted by human foot traffic) distinguishable from surrounding non-tunnel soil which should not be compacted.

The tunnel could be open (i.e. traversable and unfilled).

The tunnel may be naturally (i.e. natural processes of erosion and soil redeposition) or artificially (by human action) filled in with soil. Such fill should be distinguishable from the natural soil matrix of the site in terms of color and/or by texture, and compaction (i.e. would be less compact than the soil forming the tunnel's walls, floor and ceiling).

The tunnel fill may have inclusions of:

Natural stones and/or other natural items or;

Artifacts and/or ecofacts.

Although a tunnel of the type sought in this project may not be directly datable (e.g. in contrast to a construction date molded into the concrete of a railroad tunnel), the tunnel may be dated indirectly by the dates on artifacts contained within it if any are present.

The test expectations for a subterranean room would be essentially the same as for a tunnel. The exception would be for test expectations 1, 2 and 3 above which would be modified to reflect necessary doorway(s) into a room, that the shape of the room would not be too linear (as a tunnel) but would be "room shaped", i.e. square, round, or ovoid, and that a room would be of sufficient dimensions (length, width and height) to be distinguishable from a tunnel passageway. A room would thus be of sufficient size to accommodate a number of people interacting in a face-to-face manner as opposed to a tunnel which (depending on its size) would provide restricted possibilities for human interaction. Since, on balance, one would expect human usage of a room to be more prolonged than in a tunnel passageway, artifacts catering to prolonged usage would be expected in such a room, perhaps in the form of chairs, couches, tables, a lighting system, etc. These expectations were borne in mind during our search of the site.

Initial surveys would be conducted with remote sensing instrumentation. The author's experience elsewhere predicted that Ground Penetrating Radar, rather than the terrain conductivity meter used in the previous survey, would be effective for anomalies beneath a concrete slab floor.

Findings

The profile of an entrance/exit tunnel was discovered under the foundation of the west wall of the building (Classroom #4, see map, p. 13, this summary). The signature of this feature was described and sketched by consulting geologist Don Michael, Ph.D. (p. 113). The feature was clearly distinguished by loose, disturbed soil and the artifacts contained within it. The outside margins had an inverted bell-shaped curve profile. The tunnel signature was established both by the sharp demarcation of soil color and texture, as well as by the exclusive presence within the cavity fill of assorted historic debris such as old cans and bottles, various metal fragments and small household items. The roof at that point was provided by the bottom of the concrete foundation. Inside the foundation a roof of soil was evident.

The profile was also demarcated by severed tree roots, the significance of which was described by professional tree surgeon Jerry Hobbs:

...running under the foundation from south to north was a large root which had been chopped off at the edge of where the large amount of cans, bottles, and plastic were being found. A growing root would have had to run in and through the cans and bottles but did not. The root, some 3" in diameter had been severed with a hand saw about 90% through, then pulled off, peeling the bark of the root. The peeled layer of the cambium layer had well established healing already in progress. New feeder roots had started to grow from the cut portion of the root, and attained lengths of 6" to 15". A space of 59" to the north the roots pick up again, only these had been chopped off from the larger root and were dead. [The dead root] was about 1" in diameter and continued in the same 30 degree angle as the other root, the cambium layer was separating from the rest of the woody part of the root, indication it was probably severed at the same time the green root that was attached to the tree was severed. Both the feeder root lengths and the healing of the cambium layer indicate that the root had been cut at a time of 4 to 6 years earlier. I feel my determination is accurate due to my experience of the planting and removal and care of some of the same kind of trees for more than 25 years. To me this is conclusive that with the inconsistent soil area, the plastic bag dated 1982 [see next paragraph] and the old bottles, cans and debris, were put in the ground after 1982, and it was not an old dump area as it appeared. (Appendix III, pp. 174-176)

Due to the crucial location and dating of the Disney bag as evidence of recent disturbance, alternate hypotheses were examined. Could the bag have been artifactual not of a clandestine, buried tunnel but rather incidental to the parents' March 1985 dig or to the subsequent SRS excavation commissioned by the district attorney? After careful analysis of the parameters of each excavation, Mr. Langenwalter, senior author of the SRS study, concluded that since the parents' backhoe trench was no less than 137" from the northwest corner, it is clear that the plastic Disney bag was located by Hobbs in the virgin area between the SRS excavation and the parents' dig. In fact, it was recovered 7" south of the parameters of the SRS excavation and approximately 13" north of the parents' backhoe trench (p.184).

The emphatic correlation of definitive observations for this tunnel entrance feature is especially significant in view of its location: the decision was made to explore this precise area because some of the children had stated that there had been animal cages placed along the wall and they had entered a tunnel under the cages at that point (cf. Langenwalter, et al, 1985: 13).

Excavations where conducted in the westernmost sector of Unit 1 in room #3. This site was selected because a GPR anomaly was detected through the concrete floor in an area next to and continuing up against the west dividing wall between classrooms #3 & #4. Several human-introduced artifacts were encountered adjacent to a 3 inch cast iron waste pipe running northward from the dig. The size of the artifacts ruled out their introduction by burrowing rodents (bioturbation) and their distribution was confined within a shallow, trench-like profile of different colored soil. This proved to be a mechanically dug trench to accommodate the waste pipe from the bathroom in classroom #3, as substantiated also by the signature characteristic of a backhoe. However, one aspect of the pipe and trench complex was uncharacteristic and unexplainable at the time of excavation: the stainless steel clamps connecting an angle of the waste pipe. These two clamps were notable in that they appeared to be brand new, with a very shiny silver color, lacking the patina expected of objects buried long underground. That apparent disparity of age or use became more apparent as other clamps were unearthed elsewhere, all of which were considerably etched and discolored. There was no opening through the concrete floor which could have allowed for access to these clamps after the floor was poured, and there was no explanation for their like-new appearance if they had remained buried for the life of the structure.

A possible tunnel feature was excavated from the toilet areas in classroom #1 and the office. This feature was distinguished clearly by the color and compaction of the interior soil, which was much darker and more loosely compacted. The feature appeared to connect the area beneath the office and classroom #1 and to proceed eastward toward the eastern, outer wall of the preschool. Mr. Hobbs made a number of ancillary observations, summarized as follows:

The children stated that they had entered a tunnel from the south east corner of room 1. We dug down along the east wall of room one and the bathroom. As we followed the disturbed area south, it went under the wall into the now existing bathroom, after about 6 feet it made an abrupt right turn to the east and headed for the neighboring property. The children had told two different stories about this tunnel prior to the dig. One, that they had gone through the tunnel and come up in the house next door and two, they had come up in the garage, which blocked the house from the street. At any rate the tunnel went in that direction. I went to the house next door and followed the walk between the school and the house which were only about 4' apart. I went under the house and bellied my way toward the southwest corner of the house. After going about 20' I found an area inside the west wall of the house where the floor was cut out. If I remember correctly the area of the floor that was missing was 36" by 38" or 41", you could reach up and touch the bath tub which was exposed. The plumbing in that area appeared to be quite new.

I went back to the school and continued to dig. The tunnel I had been following was now headed toward the corner of the house where I had found the hole cut in the floor. I was very close to the foundation of the house, I was sure, so I poked a hole up through to the surface. The hole I punched through was about 2' beyond the west wall of the house and about 1' outside the south wall of the house. This tunnel was in direct line with the cut out opening under the house.

In addition to the difference in soil composition, the tunnel feature was distinctive from the surrounding matrix and from some other tunnel features discovered later, in that it had been back filled with earth that contained virtually no large artifacts or ecofacts. It did contain numerous flecks of charcoal and carbon and pieces of plaster with green paint, which the excavators hypothesized might be the remnants of the green paint that had been applied to the school in 1984 or 1985 and possibly of the fire that had occurred within the building on April 8, 1984. The maximum depth of the feature was 6 feet, and its excavated length was over 26 feet. The feature fulfilled 4 of the 5 test expectations as a tunnel, lacking only a well defined roof contour.

Several units for study were established in the adjacent vacant property (sidelot) and in the play yard adjacent to the school building, in reference to both the prior archaeological project and anomalies detected by GPR. These digs turned up apparently irrelevant artifacts such as the cesspool of the earlier residence on the sidelot and some irregular chunks and slabs of concrete. A more surprising finding was the absence of toys or other playthings that would be expected from the use of the excavated area of the preschool play yard as a children's sand box. The only exception was a 3 inch plastic plate bearing three hand-drawn five-pointed stars of differing sizes. These stars were drawn by an adult with a careful and deliberate style inconsistent with childrens drawings.

The most definitive discoveries came to light through following the vein of artifactual debris from the tunnel portal under the west wall of Classroom #4. An apparent tunnel signature veered southward once inside the foundation. The width and direction were clearly indicated not only by the abundance of historic artifacts contained within it, but also the soil color of the fill matrix was distinctly darker than the surrounding natural soil. The average width of the tunnel feature was greater than 4 feet as it extended on the diagonal completely across Unit 1 and under the concrete floor to the western edge of Unit One.

Proceeding southward, the tunnel feature widened at one point to the extent that it appeared less tunnel-like and more like a room. Also at that point a layer of plywood roofing material along with tar paper and roofing nails was found at the top of the tunnel fill material. Underneath the plywood and tar paper was a continuing abundance of bottles, wood and other debris. It became obvious that this densely packed debris-filled area was quite large in relation to the tunnel passage previously described. This room-like feature extended southward to the area under the doorway to Classroom #4 and the sidewalk corridor beyond.

It was observed that the layer of plywood and tar paper, which may have served as a kind of roof for the room-like portion of the feature, continued in an arc to the east across the east side of the southeast corner of trench Unit 1. There were obvious soil color and density demarcation lines at the roof, floor and sides. The overburden of soil forming. The existing roof of the tunnel at that point was 22 inches thick (measuring from between the bottom of the concrete floor and the demarcation of the former tunnel cavity). The walls of this wider area bore shovel mark "scars". These "scars" indicated that the tunnel had been dug out with hand tools rather than mechanized equipment.

The depth of the tunnel in the room-like area was a little more than 6'8", which would have permitted most adult males to stand upright. In contrast, the depth of the tunnel in the passageway leading up to the room-like feature was more shallow, at an average of 5'11", which would have required most adult males to bend over when walking through the passageway.

A major artifact was found buried within the room-like feature: an intact rural, roadside style mailbox. This mailbox had the name and address of the last occupants of the house that stood on the adjacent lot until it was torn down in 1972.

The tunnel direction changed dramatically beyond the room-like area, turning to a "dogleg" headed acutely eastward. A crucial dilemma was imminent at this point. With only two days left to complete all excavation, there was not time to both explore the full dimensions of the possible room and to follow the ultimate extent of the tunnel. Although important data may well have been missed by not fully exploring the "room", it was considered more important at that time to redirect full effort to explore the tunnel. It was hoped that the more the tunnel feature could be defined, the more possibilities there would be for making correlations with the eyewitness reports of the children.

In digging out the tunnel fill eastward under the concrete floor, it became apparent that the line of the tunnel continued across Classroom #4 and into the cut through the floor at Unit 1. The width of the tunnel was still about 3 feet. The height of the tunnel feature was unlike the "room" area, returning to the 5 foot, 11 inch average height of the western passageway. Some boards and a few tin cans were still found in the tunnel fill within Unit 2 but they petered out until no more major artifact inclusions were encountered beyond about three fourths of the way across the unit.

The tunnel feature ran completely across Classroom #4, up to the foundation under the dividing wall. The overburden "roof" above the tunnel gradually diminished as the tunnel came closer to the surface until, at the point where the tunnel went under the concrete foundation, there was no soil overburden or roof. Consequently the bottom of the foundation intruded into the tunnel's roof at that point. At the precise width of the tunnel, at the point where it crossed under the dividing wall between Classrooms #4 and #3, the bottom of the concrete foundation was slightly arched. The depth of the foundation at the centerpoint of the tunnel passage was some 25 inches below the concrete floor. The depth of this foundation, which gave it enormous strength, is curious, given that it supported only a structurally insignificant secondary dividing wall between the two classrooms.

At that point it became obvious that the initial Ground Penetrating Radar survey had actually detected the tunnel at the locus of its crossing under the dividing wall. Indeed, the GPR was successful in detecting the tunnel feature on both sides of the dividing wall beneath the concrete pad floor. The two corresponding anomalies had been the reason to cut through the concrete pad floor to create Classroom #3, Unit 1 and Classroom #4, Unit 2 in the first place. And it was the reason the two units were directly aligned with each other, even though on opposite sides of a then-existing dividing wall.

An unexpected discovery was made in the tunnel directly under the foundation between Classrooms #4 and #3. Four large containers were found in situ standing upright and directly beside each other. Curiously, they were not found on the floor of the tunnel but had been placed on a de facto "platform" of fill halfway up to the arched foundation.

The four containers were comprised of two blue enameled metal cylindrical pots; one tall, cylindrical crockery pot; and one rusted cast iron cauldron. The smaller of the two metal pots had a loose, makeshift handle of twisted wire. The larger metal pot had one original looped metal handle still fixed to one of its sides. The crockery container, stamped "Red Wing Stoneware Co.", was of a glazed tan color and had a decoration of one cobalt blue leaf and three stems painted on one side.

Further work revealed that the tunnel ran completely under the dividing wall foundation arch and eastward under Classroom #3. Digging backward and downward, it was then possible to observe a profile of the tunnel feature. The bottom of the tunnel was slightly U-shaped and clearly distinguishable from the lighter natural soil matrix below, which unlike the tunnel fill, contained some lighter and darker-colored small areas of rodent burrow disturbances.

Just 12 inches eastward of the dividing wall foundation another profile was defined. The tunnel again had a "roof" of compacted overburden soil. Therefore an inverted U-shaped soil boundary was very clearly defined both in soil color and texture at the top of the tunnel profile.

Unlike the tunnel passages in Classroom #4, there were virtually no inclusions of artifacts in the tunnel fill within Classroom #3. Following the tunnel fill, the team reencountered the area of the metal waste pipe with the shiny pipe joiner clamps previously described. Following the tunnel fill eastward down trench Unit 1, it became apparent that the original tunnel virtually coincided with the size and length of the concrete cutout for that unit. This coincidence was the reason the tunnel was not discovered in the initial excavation of Unit 1. Digging downward precisely within its margins, it had been impossible to visualize the lateral signature of the tunnel.

Summarizing the excavation under Classrooms #3 and #4, there was a clearly defined tunnel whose data conformed to virtually all of the test expectations for the discovery and identification of such a tunnel. Indeed, it had been possible to follow the orientation of the tunnel for some 22 feet in Classroom #4 and for an additional 28 feet where it went in an east/west direction across Classrooms #4 and #3. Thus the explored portion of the tunnel extended for a total of more than 50 feet.

With what little time there was left, attention was directed to Unit 3 of Classroom #3, which contained the intriguing remains of wooden posts. These were found in situ, still in upright positions. Both posts were the remains of 4 x 4" timbers. The first one had been burnt. The second post was more intact, and only slightly burnt. Due to their relationship parallel to the east wall of the preschool and relative to wood fragments to the north in Unit 2 found earlier by Jerry Hobbs, these posts seemed to be spaced at regular intervals, extending from north to south in classroom #3. They may have been part of a shoring system for an underground passageway, but there was no longer any time to explore for corroborative evidence.

In addition to discoveries underground, there were observations within the building itself which remain unexplained. A stack of twenty or more unused, light brown asphalt tile, appearing to be exactly the same as the tile used throughout the entire interior floor of the preschool, was discovered in the cupboard under the kitchenette sink in the office (p.181). This discovery raised the question of whether or not the floor had been patched, or perhaps replaced in its entirety. Several sections of tile had been removed by the District Attorney's investigators in 1985 but the black mastic under the tile remained on the concrete slab. In order to check the preschool floor thoroughly for any patches or replaced areas of concrete, all of the tile would have to be removed and then the mastic would have to be sandblasted or chemically removed. Because of financial and time constraints, these ideas were quickly abandoned in favor of trying to locate and identify any tunnels or rooms under the school.

Several days into the project one of the workers noticed that Classroom #3 did not have a door knob (p.182). Instead, there was a single cylinder dead bolt with a flip latch on the inside, with only a keyhole on the outside. Once latched from the inside, there could be no entry to this classroom without a key. The face of this door was obscured from outside view due to its placement within the inside corner of the L shape of the building, recessed behind the north wall of Classroom #2. The absence of any exterior knob was thus undetectable whenever the door was open, since the face of the door backed onto the deadend of the hallway.

Several parents remembered that when they were present at the school during operating hours, the door had always stood open. A mother who had occasion to visit with her two-year-old son stated that whenever she was there the toddler would run into the vacant room and reach for the children's paint and brushes. The child did this several times and each time the director would scold the mother and tell her it was not safe to let her baby go into the room because there were too many things he could get into. Yet the door was never closed.

Conclusions

The project determined the existence of two extensive tunnel complexes beneath the concrete floor of the McMartin Preschool building. One, toward the south, was consistent with the location and function described by children; it appeared to connect the interior of the preschool with the adjoining triplex structure and it had a distinct signature where it exited under the foundation of the east wall. Since it lacked dateable artifacts and a consistent demarcation of floor profile, it was classified conservatively as a "possible" tunnel.

The feature that conforms scientifically to the predetermined attributes as a tunnel was the complex on the north. This tunnel feature was clearly distinguished from the other subsurface features encountered during our excavations at the site. The northern tunnel feature conformed to virtually all of the test expectations, as follows:

An identified entrance;

The architecture was both linear and slightly curvilinear;

The architecture was large enough for adult human passage;

There were characteristic scars indicating that it had been dug by hand;

The feature had a compacted dirt floor;

The tunnel was found not open;

The tunnel had been completely, artificially filled in with fill which was distinguishable on the basis of color, texture and compaction from the original soil depositat the site;

The fill contained inclusions in the form of a large number of artifacts;

The probabilistic dating of the tunnel can be estimated by recovered artifacts.

The following seven factors determine probable age. First, it is unlikely that the bright, stainless steel straps had been placed on the pipe in 1966, when the structure was built. Second, the placement of the mailbox most probably dates to the time following the destruction of the neighboring house in 1972. Third, the Disney bag has a date of 1983, which indicates that the tunnel fill dates to that time or thereafter. Fourth, the arching of the foundation precisely over the tunnel was obviously a feature made to accommodate the tunnel and there is no other conceivable scenario to account for it. Fifth, the four large containers which were placed by hand into the tunnel fill indicate the use of the tunnel after the preschool was built. Given their position under the foundation, there is no possibility that they would not have been knocked out of place and their intact glass bottle and jar contents broken when the trench was excavated in 1966 for the pouring of the concrete foundation. Sixth, the ceiling of the tunnel was simply too shallow to have withstood human foot traffic on it in an unprotected state. If the tunnel feature had existed prior to the construction of the preschool, its covering or roof would have been so shallow that a person walking on the surface would have easily caved it in, thus exposing the tunnel. Finally, the soil deposit at this part of the property had been put into place and compacted at the time of the building construction. Therefore any holes or openings found in that area extending up to or near the surface would necessarily date to a time after 1966.

Therefore, given the evidence of the seven factors above, the time of the construction and use of the tunnel postdates 1966.

Summation

This report describes the efforts of a group of parents to explore the meaning of several issues raised by their children after attending the McMartin Preschool. Reports of the existence of underground passageways had not been confirmed in the limited exploration conducted by the office of the District Attorney. At the first opportunity of private access to the preschool property, these parents secured permission from the new owner to search more extensively for pertinent information. By engaging a highly recommended professional archaeological team, they hoped to bring scientific authority to whatever might be found or a definitive resolution for whatever was not to be found.

The present project started where the earlier investigation left off, re-examining the previous digs outside the school structure, using new technology to survey for possible anomalies beneath the floor of the structure, and then actually cutting through the concrete floor and scientifically evaluating the consistency and integrity of the underlying soil.

The results of the survey by Ground Penetrating Radar proved consistent with discoveries of the subsequent excavations, all of which confirmed not only the basic descriptions of children but also specific details of location, interior features and putative function.

The McMartin Tunnel Project confirms that a functional pattern of tunnels once existed under the McMartin Preschool, that the tunnels provided access outside the walls of the structure, that they must have been constructed after the structure was built in 1966, and that they were subsequently completely repacked with extraneous soil and implanted artifacts at some time prior to May, 1990. While this project had no way of determining who dug these tunnels, or for what purpose, the discoveries stand in stark contrast to the skeptical position that the children only imagined what they described as activities underground.

If the stories of the children were bogus fantasies, there is no excuse for the tunnels discovered under the school. If there really were tunnels, there is no excuse for the glib dismissal of any and all of the complaints of the children and their parents.

References

Langenwalter, Paul E., Kevin Peter, Jane King, and Robert Beer, 1985. Report on a forensic archaelogical investigation conducted at the Goldstein property at Manhattan Beach, California. Report prepared for the Los Angeles County District Attorney. Unpublished report on file at the contracted firm of Scientific Resource Surveys, Inc., Huntington Beach, California, and at the Office of the District Attorney.

Stickel, E. Gary, 1979. More on Theory Building in Archaeology. Current Anthropology, Vol. 10, pp. 621-622.

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Survivors ARE Heroes!

The Awareness Center believes ALL survivors of sex crimes should be given yellow ribbons to wear proudly.

Survivors of sexual violence (as adults and/or as a child) are just as deserving of a yellow ribbon as the men and women of our armed forces, who have been held captive as hostages or prisoners of war.

Survivors of sexual violence have been forced to learn how to survive, being held captive not by foreigners, but mostly by their own family members, teachers, camp counselors, coaches babysitters, rabbis, cantors or other trusted authority figures.

For these reasons ALL survivors of sexual violence should be seen as heroes!